Public Statements

Growing Our Economy By Partnering with Small Businesses

Statement

This week, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and I hosted the third annual Governor's Small Business Summit in Stevens Point. For the last three years, we joined small business job creators to discuss the state of the economy and discover how the state can continue to help their businesses create jobs and grow in Wisconsin.

Recently, Wisconsin jumped to number two in the entire nation for economic growth. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Wisconsin's growth rate over the last three months was the best in 25 years and the state's ranking is the best in history. CNBC recently ranked Wisconsin in the top five for best manufacturing states in the U.S. and 94 percent of employers surveyed by the state's chamber of commerce now say Wisconsin is headed in the right direction. More importantly, we've seen the best two-year job gains under any Wisconsin administration in over a decade.

In our latest budget, we provided additional ways to fuel our state's economy including $1 billion in tax relief for Wisconsin families, $100 million in workforce development initiatives, and funding for an investment capital program to encourage growth in start-up companies.

Moving forward, we will continue partnering with the small business community to grow our economy and encourage robust job creation.